


Saying Goodbye

by Quesadilla28



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wings, Angst and Feels, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Eventual Fluff, Flashbacks, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:54:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28867344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quesadilla28/pseuds/Quesadilla28
Summary: During the Manburg Festival, Wilbur gets captured by Schlatt and drama ensues as Tommy and Techno make plans to help him escape.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Kudos: 14





	Saying Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for alll support on my last fic . Speaking of which, I am making a second part to the story.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this story (which is not part of the same universe or timeline as my previous work).

Tubbo’s wings strained against their binds and he pulled at the ropes around his wrists. “Schlatt? What’s going on?”  
The president’s face remained emotionless and his blank eyes narrowed as they met Tubbo’s. “I know what you’ve been up to, Tubbo… Conspiring with those-those TYRANTS!”  
Quackity laughed and fastened more ropes to the teenager, firmly tying him down.  
“Do you know what happens to traitors, Tubbo?”  
“No...” the brunet stammered.  
“Nothing good.”  
“Ooo,” Quackity taunted.  
“Hey, uh, hey, Technoblade, you wanna come up here for a second?”  
From utop the NASA building, Tommy looked over at Wilbur with fearful eyes.  
Schlatt glanced back at Tubbo before gazing at the PvP master. “Let’s just send a message real quick. We like to send messages around here. Now that we’ve got Tubbo… contained...”  
The captured brunet clenched and unclenched his fingers nervously. “What?”  
Techno hesitated before extending his large, pink wings and alighting on the platform.  
Quackity begrudgingly stepped back and motioned for Techno to take his place beside Schlatt, moving into the shadows of the podium.  
The pink haired man folded his wings against his back and shuffled awkwardly on the stage. “Uh, what’s going on here?”  
“Schlatt, I actually can’t-”  
Jschlatt cut off Tubbo’s panic with a raised hand. “Tubbo, as the enemy of the state and as perpetrator to these… awful, awful people. Technoblade, please, please. If you would be so kind.”  
“What are you asking me, Schlatt?”  
“Take. Care. Of. Him.”  
Horrified murmurs erupted in the crowd and Techno fidgeted. “To get some breakfast?” he tried. “What do you mean by that, Schlatt?”  
Schlatt’s dark expression faltered and he sighed in disappointment. “Technoblade, we’re running on a tight schedule here.”  
“What do you want outta me, Mr President?” Behind the mask, dark eyes stared into Tubbo’s.  
With another sigh, Schlatt grabbed the front of Techno’s royal robe and glared threateningly at him. “I only call you in for special favours. I mean, we go way back, right? Techno, I need you to take him out. You’re gonna kill him. You’re gonna kill him right now! On this fucking stage! And make it hurt!”  
“Schlatt, it’s a festival, man,” Fundy shouted.  
“Techno, don’t do it,” Niki cried out, shoving her way towards the podium and struggling against the arms holding her back. “Schlatt, let him go.”  
The dictator ignored all the pleas and released Techno, turning to face Tubbo again. “My right-hand man… I’d rather rule alone than with you.”  
Quackity went white and pushed Technoblade aside. “Schlatt, are you sure? We have him trapped. He’s jailed!”  
“Not enough. Technoblade, are you gonna do it?”  
Tubbo tugged against the ropes in vain and spread his wings fully, trying hopelessly to break his binds. “Technoblade?”  
Schlatt stepped in front of Tubbo and glared into Techno’s eyes. “Are you gonna make a fucking example outta this weakling or not?!’  
“Tubbo, I’m sorry…”  
The teenager whimpered.  
“I’ll make it as painless and as colourful as possible,” Techno murmured, withdrawing his crossbow from his belt.  
Pure fearful terror flashed in Tubbo’s blue eyes, and fireworks went off as Techno fired his bow.  
Deafening screams from the crowd made the sickening thud of the quarrel sinking into Tubbo’s shoulder inaudible.  
“No! Tubbo!” Tommy vaulted himself over the top of the building and flew onto the platform, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Tubbo…” His face hardened as Quackity and Schlatt pulled out their swords. “You killed my best FRIEND!” He spread his wings and knocked the two rulers off the podium with a loud grunt.  
Tommy’s sudden fury drained as he looked down at the blood puddling around his boots. His own face was reflected back at him and he gagged at the obscene amount of crimson.  
“TOMMY! RUN!”  
The blond spun around at the sound of Wilbur’s voice and the hard flapping of countless pairs of wings. He paled at the sight of Fundy, Quackity, Punz, flanking Schlatt, all midair with weapons pointed right at him.  
“I should have killed you the moment you were banished,” Schlatt hissed. He flicked his wrist and Tommy shrieked as the armed trio descended towards him. He immediately took flight and scanned the festival desperately for Wilbur.  
“Tommy!” Wilbur shouted again and Tommy rocketed towards him in the air, and they quickened their paces as more armoured flyers began to tail them. They panted heavily as they swerved around trees and buildings, trying to lose as many enemies as possible before returning to Pogtopia.  
Wilbur stopped suddenly in front of a cliff and shot upwards, flinching as Ponk and Fundy both slammed into the mountain and fell to the ground.  
Meanwhile, Tommy was having difficulty losing Purpled and his speed was rapidly deteriorating after already succeeding in ditching Quackity. He gulped in a breath as he ducked inside Quackity’s makeshift alleyway, instantly regretting his decision as Purpled appeared in the entrance to the alley, his silhouette threatening against the setting sun.  
“You know I don’t want to do this, Tommy, but… you are trespassing.”  
Tommy inhaled shakily and shrank against the wall, recoiling as his attacker slunk closer.  
A choked cry and familiar strum of flying arrows interrupted Tommy’s pathetic attempt at bargaining. He gasped as a red tipped arrow embedded itself in the wall next to his head. His eyes widened in shock as he looked up fearfully to see another projectile protruding from Purpled’s grey and purple wings.  
The injured warrior stumbled to his knees and Tommy followed the jerky movement with his eyes, glancing up to see a flash of long, blond hair and a bright green hoodie.  
The fugitive relaxed slightly, only to tense as more wing beats sounded from outside his hiding place and Schlatt’s voice rang out from the microphone.  
“Find them! Find them right fucking now!”  
Tommy bit his lip as he spread his wings and flew out of the alley, skirting around the trees while trying to use his compass. He came to a sudden stop at the disembodied sound of Wilbur’s voice.  
“Will?”  
“Get down to the ground and hide.”  
The former vice president followed the order and carefully flapped down to the forest floor, moving behind a large oak tree. He drew his hawk wings against his back to avoid drawing attention to himself and glanced up at the sky.  
Tommy pushed himself into the jagged bark as Quackity and Sam flew overhead and scanned the trees.  
The teenager flinched as a dry branch cracked underneath his foot and Sam looked down at him. He shook his head frantically and put a finger to his lips.  
Sam blinked and nudged Quackity with his shoulder, pointing towards Tommy’s old base and muttering something.  
Wilbur relaxed slightly as they flew away and rushed toward Tommy, grabbing him by the wrist and leaning close to his ear. “I couldn’t find the button, Tommy. Just head to Tubbo’s bunker and get back to Pogtopia. I’ll meet you there.”  
“But Tubbo-”  
“Go. Now,” Wilbur whispered firmly. His dark eyes watched as Tommy flitted through the woods and vanished from view. He snarled to himself as he caught a glimpse of Schlatt hovering over the forest. Silently pulling out his diamond axe, Wilbur leapt into the air and swung his weapon at the president.  
Schlatt threw up his shield, blocking the heavy blow and whirling around mid air. “You’re gonna have to try harder than that, pretty boy.”  
Wilbur grit his teeth and lashed out with his axe again, hacking at the shield violently in an attempt to break the wooden barrier.  
Schlatt rolled his eyes and smashed a pair of glass bottles into the back of Wilbur’s head.  
The curly haired brunet jerked backwards and reached up to his head, flinching as his fingers grazed shards of glass and sticky blood. He blinked slowly as his vision began to swim and his wing beats dis-harmonised.  
Schlatt pulled Wilbur against him, beating his vulture wings twice as hard to keep the extra weight aloft. He simply tightened his grip as Wilbur weakly struggled in his hold, despite his swaying vision and heavy limbs.  
“If you want to fall to your death, be my fucking guest,” Schlatt growled. “I’m the only thing keeping you in the air.”  
Wilbur gasped as a sudden wave of nausea wracked his body. His hands instinctively clutched at the lapels of JSchlatt’s suit and he coughed drily. “What… did you… do to me?”  
Schlatt ignored the question and began flying back to Manburg, the only sounds being Wilbur’s strained breathing and the rhythmic flapping.  
The L’Manburg leader held back a gag at the swift change in pace, knowing that Schlatt would make his death extremely painful if he threw up on his suit.  
The vulture winged man held Wilbur so that the older man’s face was pressed above his stomach, and Schlatt’s arms were tightly coiled around Wilbur’s back just under his shoulder blades.  
As they finally descended onto the ground, Schlatt dropped Wilbur to the ground with a scowl and strode away, leaving the tall brunet shaking on the wooden path.  
Wilbur held his arms against his chest and shut his eyes, wishing Schlatt would just get it over with already.  
But as a few minutes passed, Wilbur hesitantly opened his eyes to see four distorted pairs of boots.  
“You are going to keep him locked up until I find a use for him. No more arguing about it. And if I find out that you are helping them in any fucking way… you’ll be the next people with arrows in their damn chests,” Schlatt spat.  
Silence followed the president’s order and Wilbur gasped as another pair of bottles crashed into the floor next to his face, sending shards of glass everywhere. Even through his foggy mind, he instantly recognised the nausea and weakness potions.  
As his vision blurred again, Wilbur managed to roll over onto his side and glimpse the people Schlatt was talking to.  
Niki, who had tears in her eyes as she met Wilbur’s fading gaze.  
Eret, with his sunglasses gone and his royal robe in tatters.  
And Fundy… with his fiery orange wings bent and broken at hideous angles after crashing into the mountain Wilbur led him straight into.

“How are we going to get him out, Eret? We can’t let them kill Will,” Niki whispered.  
“I don’t know if we should… You know I support Wilbur, but I don’t want my life to be the price.”  
Niki’s eyebrows furrowed and she angrily pushed at Eret’s chest. “That’s what we have to do, Eret. We’re on the wrong side in a war, so we have to risk our lives to get on the right side. Wilbur is our president and he is in trouble. So we need to help him.”  
The king sighed and gently hugged the small girl against him. “Alright, Niki. We’ll get him out. I swear.”

Wilbur blinked as the last of the nausea potion left his system. He moved to stretch out his heavy limbs, freezing as metal chains clanked around his wrists. His eyesight slowly sharpened as he glanced over his surroundings, and his eyes landed on the chains shackling his hands, and ankles to the stone brick roof of a building.  
His eagle wings were bound tightly behind his back and Wilbur was forced into a kneeling position, his hands chained behind his back. The brunet’s heart sank as he finally recognised where he was being held captive.  
“What? Recognise the scenery?”  
Despite his dry mouth, Wilbur managed to croak out a response. “Fundy…”  
The fox eared man stepped into Wilbur’s line of sight and the older man cringed once again at the sight of his mangled wings. The same wings that were once the envy of the entire country for their natural red and orange tones that shone in the sunlight. “Like what you see, Wilbur? This is your handiwork after all… Bet you planned it, destroying my wings because I’m not on your side in this war.”  
“No- I’d never do that.”  
“You would. I heard a rumour that you were going to blow up Manburg… Is that true?”  
Wilbur hesitated and Fundy snorted with a roll of his eyes.  
“Of course, it was.”  
“What-what happened to Ponk? After you crashed.”  
Fundy looked up to reveal his cold brown eyes. “You led us into that fuckin’ wall. He hit it head first. Didn’t live much long after that.” Sadness flickered into his eyes before it was immediately extinguished and replaced with fury.  
“He... died?”  
“Yeah, yeah, he did.”  
“I-I didn’t mean for that to happen, Fundy. You know that.”  
“I don’t know anything about you anymore, Wilbur. You’ve changed… and so have I.”  
Wilbur tried to reach his hand out to Fundy, cursing quietly as the chains restricted the motion. “Just let me go, Fundy. This will all be over soon.”  
Fundy bit back his growl and his bushy tail flicked sharply against his legs. “You mean when you blow this place up? Not gonna happen! I drank my entire stock of healing and regen potions after I hit that damn wall. The only thing they did was stop the bleeding and the pain. I’ll never fly again, Wilbur! Does that mean anything to you?!”  
The L’Manburg leader averted his eyes. “Of course it does.”  
“Yeah, right. You aren’t getting out of here, Wilbur. I’ll see to that,” Fundy hissed.

Tommy drew his sword as a twig snapped behind him and he spread his wings defensively. “Who’s there?”  
“It’s me.”  
The teenager saw red as Technoblade stepped out of the woods. He threw himself at the older man and swung his sword at him violently. “YOU KILLED TUBBO!!”  
Techno deflected the swing with his crossbow and pushed Tommy off him. “Tommy, stop! I couldn’t go against Schlatt’s order or I would’ve been killed. I was subjected to peer pressure.” Now Techno was sprinting away from the teen, avoiding the angry swings of the sword.  
“Do NOT fucking joke about this! You killed him,” Tommy hissed. “And you aren’t getting away with it!” He tossed an ender pearl in front of Techno and appeared in front of him, slashing out with his sword and his axe.  
The pink winged man gasped and swiftly kicked Tommy’s legs out from under him, knocking his weapons from his grip and pinning him down. “Calm down. I. Had. To. Do. It. There were like a dozen people there who would’ve killed me if I hadn’t.”  
“That’s no excuse for murdering my best friend, you fuckin’ traitor.”  
“I didn’t want to kill him.”  
Tommy’s eyes narrowed and he turned away.  
Technoblade sighed and offered his hand to Tommy, pulling him to his feet. I’m sorry, Tommy.”  
Cold blue eyes seemed to glare through Techno’s mask. “I will never forgive you for this. Ever.”  
“I don’t expect you to.”  
“After we save Will, you’ll fucking pay for what you did.”  
Just as Techno opened his mouth, the distant sound of feedback interrupted him.  
“Is it on?” Schlatt asked.  
A snort from Quackity echoed on the speakers. “Yeah.”  
“Good. Citizens of Manburg… It is I, your Emperor! My long-awaited festival was tainted by Tubbo’s betrayal and now… Now we have the former president of L’Manburg captive and in two days time, Wilbur Soot will be publicly executed for his crimes against this fine country. But, if those rebelling my rule turn themselves in, I will spare his life. TommyInnit… I’m talking to you. See you all soon… How do I turn it off?”  
“Uh, this button,” Quackity murmured.  
The speakers clicked off and Tommy eyed Technoblade apprehensively. “What the hell are we gonna do now?”

Wilbur roused from his fitful sleep as something clanged next to him. The abrupt announcement about his upcoming execution had taken its toll on the brunet and the dark circles around his eyes were steadily growing. Unfortunately, his awkward positioning had not helped to lull him to sleep. He forced open his tired eyes and they widened almost comically as Eret knelt down in front of him.  
“Hello, Will,” he smiled sadly.  
“Eret.”  
“Schlatt wants you groomed for… tonight. He ordered me to clean you up.”  
Wilbur seemed to sink into the floor with the king’s words. “You’re not helping me?”  
Eret hesitated. “I-I can’t, Wilbur. I just can’t.”  
“Even after all this, you’re still a traitor,” Wilbur hissed weakly.  
The younger man fell silent and unlocked the chains holding Wilbur to the roof. With a strained groan, he lifted Wilbur onto quivering legs and helped him down into the grooming room of his castle.  
Wilbur held back a gasp as Eret reached out to unlock his sore wings, only to deflate when his right ankle was shackled to the floor by a long chain.  
“I’m sorry.”  
The ex-president’s breathing shook as his wings were unbound and they trembled in midair before limply flailing out onto the ground. As much as Wilbur strained to keep up his regal wings… and dignity, they both collapsed.  
Eret sucked in a breath and cleared his throat. “Do you want my help getting undressed or…”  
Wilbur turned up his nose and stretched his arms out, jingling his cuffs pointedly.  
“I don’t have the key for those.”  
The taller brunet growled softly. “Then help me.”  
The king bit his lip as he moved to pull off the other man’s white T-shirt. He fidgeted uncomfortably when the shirt caught on the metal cuffs. “I-”  
“Just cut it off.”  
“Will…”  
“Do it!”  
Eret held in his flinch and swiftly cut through the fabric with a small knife from his belt. He tossed the knife aside and moved to fill up the marble bathtub, shifting on his knees at the sound of rustling fabric. Eret turned the tap off and turned around, averting his eyes to let Wilbur into the water. “Go ahead.”  
Wilbur collapsed into the tub with a loud splash, making sure to leave his wings out of the water, and turned his head toward the wall as Eret turned around.  
“You know I don’t want this for you right, Will? I want L’Manburg back too, just… I don’t want you to die. We’re friends.”  
Wilbur remained silent for the remainder of his short bath, even as Eret lightly doused his hair with water and gently worked shampoo and conditioner into the brown strands. He began to shiver slightly as more water was poured over his head, thankfully avoiding his eyes and mouth.  
Eret took note of Wilbur’s trembling and twisted the drain of the tub, grabbing Wilbur’s hand and helping him onto the stone floor. He smiled warmly as he draped a towel around the former president’s waist, only for him to receive a cold glare in return. Eret dropped the smile and ushered Wilbur over to a spare bed, sitting the older man on the mattress.  
“Can you please lie on your stomach, Will? I’ll have better access to clean your wings.”  
Wilbur just remained silent and the slightly shorter man gently turned him onto his stomach with a permanent wince.  
“Sorry. I’m going to groom your wings now. Alright?”  
When he received no response, Eret carefully spread out the large golden eagle wings and began pouring massage oil onto his fingers. He lightly massaged the oil into Wilbur’s wing joints, eliciting light groans from the older man.  
Eret mindfully plucked out the loose feathers, forming a small pile of the soft down. He pushed his curls out of his face and continued his slow motions until all Wilbur’s muscles were relaxed and comfortably sore.  
The king smiled to himself and manoeuvred Wilbur to a sitting position before unchaining his leg, allowing Wilbur to keep his wings free. “If you swear not to try and escape, I’ll leave your wings unbound.”  
Wilbur nodded earnestly and let out a little sigh as Eret helped him to his feet, his wings once again brushing against the ground.  
“Do you have to do anything else to me?” Wilbur muttered, his feet dragging along the floor after two days of not walking.  
“Um, I have orders to clean you and your wings,” Eret mumbled as he lowered Wilbur into a chair and grabbed a spare towel. He gently rubbed through the wet chestnut hair until it was damp and he stopped to look at Wilbur in the mirror. “Do you want me to fix your hair up?”  
“Leave… leave it, please.”  
“Alright.” Eret blinked slowly and he absentmindedly fluttered his own wings. He possessed beautiful translucent dragonfly wings that shimmered in the sunlight, however it did mean he didn’t like to go out in the rain, claiming it made them stick together unpleasantly.  
Wilbur watched the movement and moved a damp lock of hair from his eyes. His mind raced with possible escape routes, only for him to sink further into the chair when they all came up as impossible. “How’s Niki?” he whispered softly.  
The younger man looked up at Wilbur suddenly and withdrew an outfit from his wardrobe. “She’s not doing well, Will. Schlatt’s tripled her taxes, and only her taxes. He knows she believes in you and is doing everything he can to keep her under his control.”  
“Hmm.”  
“How are you thinking you’ll escape this? You and Tommy are the most wanted people in the country…” Eret handed Wilbur a pair of black jeans and turned away momentarily.  
Wilbur clumsily pulled on the pants and handed the damp towel to Eret.  
The shorter of the two hesitated as he held out a bright yellow sweater. “How should I-”  
“His wings are supposed to be bound,” Fundy spat, striding into the room and brushing past Eret.  
“Fundy... I just finished grooming his wings, the chains would have messed them up.”  
“Well, he won’t need pretty feathers when he’s bleeding out in front of everyone.” Fundy roughly pushed Wilbur against the wall off the castle and re-chained his wings, making the ex-president’s bare chest scrape painfully against the bricks.  
“Fuck, Fundy,” Wilbur hissed, wincing as his skin burned.  
The fox-eared man gave the older brunet another shove into the wall before releasing him and stepping back. “Get him dressed. Schlatt’s ready for him.”  
“How can I do that when his hands are chained together?” Eret grumbled.  
Fundy scowled in annoyance and unsheathed his sword, bringing it down in one strong motion and breaking the chain connecting Wilbur’s hands.  
Wilbur gasped lightly and Eret timidly passed him the shirt. He pulled the vibrant jumper on and Fundy withdrew another pair of cuffs from his satchel, snapping them around Wilbur’s wrists again.  
Eret sighed softly at the sad noise that escaped Wilbur. “Where are you taking him?”  
“Schlatt wants to talk with him,” Fundy said, grabbing Will by the shoulder and harshly manhandled him towards the doorway.  
Wilbur dug his feet into the ground and looked back at Eret. “Bye.”  
“Bye, Will,” Eret murmured, eyes following Fundy’s forceful movements as he pushed Wilbur out the door. 

Schlatt raised his dark eyes as Fundy pushed the door open and escorted Wilbur into the room. He took a final sip of his glass of whiskey before setting it aside and meeting Wilbur’s eyes.  
The fox unceremoniously muscled Wilbur into the chair beside Schlatt and shackled his handcuffs to the chair’s armrest. “You want me here to supervise?”  
“No. What? He’s fucking chained up, what the hell is he gonna do? Besides, Quackity’s coming in here in a minute.”  
Fundy just scowled and stormed out of the room.  
Wilbur sighed as his hands were restricted once again and Schlatt huffed out a low laugh.  
“What the fuck did Eret do to you?” Brown eyes squinted mockingly at the bright yellow sweater. “Anyway, how have you been, Wilbur?”  
The former president turned his gaze to the window and Schlatt’s face darkened.  
“Alright, then, this is how it’s gonna go. You and I are going to have an engaging conversation until my vice president gets his ass in here,” Schlatt growled.  
“What if I refuse?” Wilbur taunted, going as far as to glare coldly at the new dictator.  
“I don’t think that’ll happen, Wilbur, I really don’t. Because if you refuse, I’ll hand you over to Fundy for the rest of your life. And it seems like he’s got quite the grudge against you… So, what’s it gonna be?”  
Will considered it momentarily, before recalling the pure hatred in Fundy’s tone and his brutal handling under the Dutchman’s care. “Fine.”  
“Then answer the damn question.”  
“I’m fine.”  
Schlatt ground his teeth together and rocketed to his feet, slamming his palms into the table and snarling. He took some sadistic pleasure in the way Wilbur jumped and fear blossomed in his eyes. “I did say an engaging conversation, didn’t I?”  
“For fuck’s sake…” Wilbur muttered. “What’s new in Manburg?”  
Just as soon as Schlatt’s sudden fury appeared, it dissolved into a charming smile and a relaxed hand raking through brown locks. “So glad you asked, Wilbur. We re-styled your old flag and tearing down that ugly ass White House is next on the list.”  
Wilbur’s eyebrows furrowed. “You can’t just tear down the White House, Schlatt.”  
“I’m the fucking president, I can do whatever I want. Just like how I raised Niki’s taxes.”  
Wilbur snarled angrily and tugged against his chained hands. “Don’t you dare talk about Niki!”  
Schlatt smirked and inched his chair closer to Wilbur, leaning just out of the brunet’s reach. “Relax, pretty boy. I don’t want your girlfriend.”  
“She is not my girlfriend.”  
“Hmm.”  
The anger fuelled atmosphere fell apart as Quackity flopped into the chair across from Wilbur.  
“Ayyy, Wilbur… How’s it going?”  
“How do you think it’s going?”  
The youngest at the table sighed dramatically and flashed Schlatt a cool smile. “Hola mi amor.”  
Schlatt spared a small grin for his vice president. “Hola mi novia.”  
Quackity beamed and swung his feet up onto the table, crossing his legs and leaning back. “What’s up?”  
“I just wanted to tell Wilbur here, that the fun and games are over. The next time any of your Pogtopia morons step onto my land and I find out, they won’t be alive long enough to apologise.”  
Wilbur dug his nails into his palms as he went white. “You think your ‘citizens’ will wanna stay here after you’ve killed all their friends? There’s no way in hell.”  
Schlatt calmly got up from the table and withdrew a small blade from his pocket. He nonchalantly twirled the knife around his fingers and hissed softly as the sharp edge grazed his knuckle. “Ugh, fuck. Shit. I didn’t mean to do that. Goddammit!”  
Quackity sighed, “Jesus Christ, Schlatt.”  
The president licked the blood off the minuscule cut with a smirk and replaced the knife in his pocket. “Here’s the thing, pretty boy… Have you ever heard the saying ‘It’s better to be feared than loved’? Well, I’m embracing the fear that comes from slaughtering traitors. By the way, it goes without saying that any Manburg citizen will be executed if they’re found conspiring with Pogtopia.”  
A smirk played onto Quackity’s face and he joined his president in standing. “Amazing speech, boss.”  
“Have I made my point clear, Wilbur?”  
The handcuffed brunet inclined his head and looked down at his feet. “Why-why did you tell me all of that?”  
Schlatt grinned. “Oh, I want you to be miserable before your death.”

Niki brushed her hair behind her ear and crept towards the unfamiliar, yet very obviously visible, secret base. She pushed aside the sparse canopy of vines covering the entrance to the cave, gasping at the bare room that was hidden behind it. "There-there’s nothing here,” she breathed softly.  
The room in question was nothing more than a mere hole in the hillside, holding nothing aside from a furnace, two beds, and a few chests.  
Niki exclaimed in frustration and kicked at the small rug in the room, making it slide over to the side. She gasped quietly at the large staircase that was hidden under the rug. The girl tiptoed down the stairs, slowing her advances when whispers became audible. “Tommy?”  
“Niki!”  
Niki giggled as Tommy darted up the stairs and gently shook her by the shoulders. “What are you doing here?”  
“I’m done being on Schlatt’s side, especially after what he’s done to Wilbur… and Tubbo.”  
Tommy nodded solemnly and his eyes flicked to his side as more footsteps echoed through Pogtopia.  
Techno stepped next to Tommy and Niki’s face darkened.  
“You! You murdered Tubbo!” Niki growled angrily, pushing Technoblade in the chest.  
He stumbled backwards down the stairs and held his hands up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.”  
“Wait, Niki, Niki! Calm down! He’s still on our side,” Tommy shouted. “Or so he says. I don’t trust him either, Niki, but… we need his help to get Wilbur out or he’s gonna die like Tubbo.”  
Niki hesitated. “Fine, but if I ever get the slightest hint that you are going to betray one of us again, I will end you.”  
Techno paled behind his mask and nodded. “I don’t intend to.”  
“Good,” Niki muttered. “Now, how are we going to save Wilbur?”  
“We already talked about that actually,” Tommy exclaimed. “Yeah, yeah, we have no idea.”  
Niki rubbed her temples in exhaustion and sighed. “We have to do something, Wilbur only has a few hours left.”

Wilbur grunted as he was thrown into a cell, wings knocking against the rough wall of the prison.  
Quackity smirked and slammed the cell door shut, hanging the keys on the hook outside the door.  
The disgraced president groaned and sank to the ground, grimacing at the feeling of his feathers bending out of place. He exhaled gently and knocked his head back against the wall. His damp curls fell over his eyes and Wilbur swallowed hard.  
He was set to die in an hour. Executed in front of his friends, former friends anyway.  
Wilbur held back his sniffle and turned his face toward the small barred window. Small rays of sunlight filtered through the bars, illuminating shards of Wilbur’s face. He squinted, closing one eye and continuing to stare out the tiny window.  
The brunet tensed as quiet, almost silent, footsteps sounded from outside the cell door. His eyes immediately darted to the door and they narrowed in confusion as the key twisted in the lock.  
“Will? Are you in here?”  
“E-Eret?”  
“Wilbur!”  
Eret shoved the door open and closed it gently behind him, leaving it open the slightest bit. He crouched down next to Wilbur and moved to hug him, smile falling away as the ex-president inched away.  
“What are you doing here?”  
“I’m here to get you out,” Eret grinned. “Here, give me your hand.”  
Wilbur tentatively grabbed Eret’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “Why? You betrayed us.”  
“I’m doing this because I still support you, Wilbur. And because Schlatt is psychotic.”  
A dry laugh slipped through Wilbur’s chapped lips, excitedly bouncing on his heels as the binds on his feet and legs were unlocked.  
“I don’t blame you if you still don’t trust me,” Eret muttered, swinging his sword at the chain connecting the other brunet’s hands.  
“I don’t,” Wilbur admitted.  
“Well, you can think about that when you get out of here.”  
Eret grinned again as Wilbur’s wings fluttered slightly. “Do you think you can fly all the way to Pogtopia?”  
“Uh, yeah, I think so.”  
“Good, let’s go before they catch us.”  
The pair cautiously cracked the cell door open and stepped into the hall.  
“Hurry, this way,” Eret whispered.  
Wilbur followed Eret in his speed walk down the halls, checking around every corner before turning. He gasped softly as the door to the prison became visible and he and Eret raced towards it.  
“Not so fast, lover boy,” Schlatt sneered.  
“S-Schlatt!” Shock flashed across Eret’s face and he gulped. “How did you…”  
“I knew you were going to be a traitor since the first time I saw you,” the emperor scoffed. He made a beckoning motion and Fundy slunk out from the shadows.  
“Fundy… Just stop this, you can come with us.” Wilbur pleaded.  
The fox snorted and laughed mockingly as Schlatt pulled him against his side. “Once a traitor, always a traitor.”  
“Yeah. Once a traitor… Always a traitor,” Schlatt hissed as he held his sword against Fundy’s throat, pinning him against him.  
“Wait, what are you doing?” Fundy gasped, shrinking away from the sharp blade.  
“You really think I’d fucking trust either of you two. You betrayed them,” he spat, glare directed at Eret. His eyes dropped to stare at Fundy. “And you followed me without hesitation, and against your own father.”  
“Schlatt, don’t! Please, let him go and you can kill me,” Wilbur whispered softly.  
“Wilbur,” Eret muttered. “Don’t sacrifice yourself.”  
Fundy’s ears flattened against his head and he whined as the sword cut a thin line into his skin. His wings were bunched uncomfortably against Schlatt’s suit and his tail flicked uneasily between his legs.  
Schlatt huffed and whistled shrilly, drawing Quackity into the light as well.  
The youngest in the room dragged HBomb behind him and pulled him up, mimicking Schlatt’s position with HBomb yanked against him. “Hola amigos.”  
“H,” Fundy breathed.  
The cat-eared hybrid instantly met Fundy’s eyes, blue irises wide with fear. “Fundy?”  
“Let him go!” Fundy cried out.  
“Shut it, fox!” Schlatt dug his blade into the hybrid’s neck, effectively silencing him.  
“Here’s your choice, Wilbur. You hand yourself over to me, and I kill you right here, and your kid and the cat go free. Or we kill these two and then you and Eret.”  
Wilbur’s mind raced. Four deaths or one. “Deal.”  
Eret grabbed the older man by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Wilbur, don’t do this.”  
“I have to, Eret. He’s my son,” Wilbur muttered, brown eyes meeting Fundy’s horrified umber.  
The fox hybrid gulped, “Wilbur, I-”  
Schlatt cleared his throat, cutting Fundy off, “Let’s get this show on the road, I don’t have time for this bullshit.”  
Wilbur sighed, stepping between Quackity and Schlatt. He lowered himself to his knees and watched impatiently as Schlatt shoved Fundy towards Eret.  
Schlatt, unbeknown-st to Wilbur, Fundy, and Eret, made a subtle gesture towards Quackity and the nineteen year old smirked. The ram horned man held up a finger and grabbed Wilbur by the back of his shirt before nodding.  
Quackity moved as if he were about to release HBomb before stabbing his sword through the brunet’s throat and dropping him to the floor.  
“NO! H!” Fundy screamed, pulling against Eret’s arms holding him back. He threw himself at HBomb’s limp body, clutching at his chest and running another hand over limp brown cat ears.  
“We had a fucking deal, Schlatt!” Wilbur shouted.  
Schlatt laughed and knelt down next to Wilbur with a dark grin on his face. “I don’t make deals with traitors.”  
Eret crouched down with Fundy and pulled him into his arms, shushing him softly and gently soothing him. He ran his fingers over the fox’s ears and whispered quietly into his ears, keeping Fundy’s face pressed against his chest while he himself stared into lifeless blue eyes. “Shh, it’s alright, it’s alright. He didn’t hurt. He’s gone.”  
Wilbur gasped as Schlatt pressed the tip of his sword into his spine.  
“Now it’s your turn, lover boy.”  
Fundy angrily pushed himself off Eret and grabbed one of the swords at his side. “Over my dead fucking body.” He lunged at Schlatt and swung out with the blade, slashing at the president furiously.  
Schlatt threw up his own weapon and fended off the attack, Quackity also drawing his weapon and advancing on Eret.  
The king growled softly and held up his shield. “Wilbur, fly! You need to fly!”  
The man in question rushed to his feet and dodged a sudden swing of Schlatt’s sword. “I’m not just gonna leave you both here.” His eyes darted around the room, searching frantically for a weapon. He inhaled sharply as the tip of Quackity’s sword grazed Eret’s cheek and Fundy stumbled backwards away from his advancing attacker.  
Eret hissed and thrust his blade at Quackity, narrowly missing the teenager’s head.  
The dark haired teen growled and lashed out, chopping at Eret’s shield.  
“Just go! Get Fundy and leave,” Eret grunted.  
The fox hybrid bared his teeth and blocked another blow from Schlatt. “No. Bring H with you, give him a proper burial… Please, Will.”  
Wilbur bit his lip and nodded, but paused as Fundy gasped, the diamond sword that belonged to Schlatt protruding from his abdomen. “No…”  
Fundy coughed and blood splattered onto the floor from his mouth.  
The president laughed loudly and yanked his sword from the hybrid’s stomach, grabbing Fundy’s furry tail to wipe the blood off his blade. “Never did like foxes.”  
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Wilbur snarled, picking up Fundy’s fallen weapon and violently swung it at Schlatt.  
A loud thud made the two rivals pause in their tracks suddenly as Quackity crumpled to the ground and Eret gasped for breath.  
Wilbur took advantage of Schlatt’s shock and smacked the side of his head with the blade of his sword, knocking the younger man out.  
He instantly fell to the ground next to Fundy and pulled his head into his lap. “Fundy, I’m so, so fucking sorry for dragging you into this. And about your beautiful wings. And now... you can’t hear me apologise.” Wilbur gently gave Fundy’s ears one last stroke and inhaled softly at the weak twitch. “Fundy?”  
The twenty-one year old groaned and his hand reached up to the wound in his gut. “Dad?”  
Wilbur’s heart clenched. “Eret, we need to get him to Pogtopia. Now!”  
The king nodded quickly and carefully lifted HBomb’s body into his arms. He watched Wilbur pick Fundy up after pressing a strip of cloth into his hand and holding it against his injury. “Let’s go before they wake up.”  
Wilbur strained to get into the air after two day of not flying and now carrying extra weight, but he managed to get aloft by furiously flapping his wings. He cringed at Fundy’s quiet noises of pain and stifled whimpers as they neared the entrance to Pogtopia.  
Eret was also struggling to carry HBomb’s body with his delicate dragonfly wings, his wing beats rapidly slowing and his chest heaving for breath.  
The ex-president descended into the hidden cave and laid Fundy onto one of the beds in the room, searching through the chests for a healing potion. He exhaled in relief and hastily poured the fuchsia potion into Fundy’s mouth, tilting his head backwards to make him swallow it.  
“Come on, come on,” Wilbur muttered. His fingers twisted together frantically and he bit his lip, barely acknowledging the coppery taste of blood. “Come on, Fundy.”  
The fox didn’t move.  
Eret landed on the ground and lowered HBomb onto the other bed, tucking his cardinal wings and tail gently under his back. His eyes began to water as Wilbur clutched Fundy’s motionless hand and kept whispering to himself. “Wilbur…”  
“Shut up. He’ll wake up. He has to wake up.” Wilbur shrugged Eret’s hand off his shoulder and squeezed the fox’s hand. “Come on.”  
Silence… but then Fundy groaned softly and clenched Wilbur’s hand.  
The brunet relaxed instantly and examined beneath the hole in Fundy’s shirt, sighing at the normal pale skin with no wound in sight.  
“For the love of…” Wilbur muttered. “Thank God.”  
Eret exhaled and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He sat down on the end of HBomb’s bed and held his head between his hands, pushing down his sick feeling as HBomb’s blood dripped down onto the cave floor.  
Fundy’s harsh breathing was the only sound in the cave and Eret began looking through the chests for any spare gear. He pulled on a chainmail chestplate and withdrew a dulled iron axe from the chest. Taking another glance back at Fundy and Wilbur, and deciding that they wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while, Eret pulled his whetstone from his pocket and began to sharpen his new weapon.  
Wilbur blinked as Fundy opened his eyes and coughed, a few remaining splatters of blood landing on his jacket. “Jesus Christ!”  
“Do you need any more potions? Healing or anything?”  
“I’m good,” the fox ground out, forcing himself into a sitting position. “Where-where are we?”  
“You’re in Pogtopia,” Techno and Tommy murmured in unison.  
Wilbur looked up in surprise as his brothers emerged from the hidden passage in the floor.  
A large smile broke out on Tommy’s face. The teenager clapped Wilbur on the back and grinned. “Good to have ya back, Wilbur.”  
“Good to be back, Tommy.”  
Techno’s small grin was barely visible under his mask and he held out his hand to Wilbur.  
The brunet’s eyes narrowed, but he accepted the offered handshake.  
Tommy’s smile dropped instantly as Eret got to his feet. “What the fuck are you doing here?”  
“It’s fine, Tommy. He helped me get out. So did Fundy. And HBomb… didn’t make it,” Wilbur whispered.  
Fundy’s black eyes darkened and he avoided looking over at his friend’s motionless body. His hand felt under his shirt for his injury, sighing when he felt nothing. “We need to bury him. Somewhere nice.”  
“Why should we do anything for you?” Tommy growled. “You followed Schlatt.”  
Wilbur’s face fell and he grabbed Tommy’s arm before he advanced on Fundy. “Don’t you dare. He is my son and he helped me, so we will do the one thing he wants.”  
The fox hybrid forced a smile as Wilbur tightened his grip on his hand.  
Tommy begrudgingly stepped back and eyed Eret and Fundy apprehensively. “How’d you get out, Wilbur?”  
“Eret broke me out and Fundy distracted Schlatt until Eret took out Quackity.”  
The king offered a kind smile and Techno cocked his head. “But… where’s Niki?”  
“What?” Shock and fear flashed across Wilbur’s face and he frowned. “What the hell d’you mean, ‘Where’s Niki’?”  
“She left to go hand herself in for you,” Tommy nodded towards the cave entrance.  
Wilbur’s eyes went wide as the vines at the entrance of the cave shifted and a silhouette stepped into the cave.  
Blonde hair shone brightly from the faint rays of sunlight streaming through the vines and Wilbur sighed in relief. “Niki.”  
“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not Niki,” Dream muttered, stepping into the room and wiping a streak of dirt off his pristine, white mask. He shook out his feathers, grimacing as a few of them fell to the floor. “Jeez, that fly seems to get worse every time.”  
“What are you doing here?” Techno rumbled.  
“I came to tell you that Schlatt and Quackity are pissed. They declared war on Pogtopia.”  
“What!” Tommy growled. “They can’t do that.”  
Dream scowled behind his mask. “Yeah, but you can declare war against me anytime you want.”  
The teenager smirked. “You deserved it. And you still have my disks.”  
“And I will always have your disks,” Dream grinned.  
Tommy pouted.  
“Anyway, they’re going to attack in a week…”  
Wilbur shrugged and waved his hand nonchalantly. “Who cares? I’ll just go back to Manburg and hit the button.”  
The speedrunner hesitated. “You could do that… Or you could try to win back your country with war against Schlatt.”  
“What do you mean try?” Wilbur’s eyes narrowed and he defensively stood in front of Fundy.  
“Well, aside from Techno… you all stand no chance against me and my Dream Team in a fight.”  
“What the hell, Dream? You’re siding with Schlatt?!”  
“Actually… I’m siding with chaos,” Dream said, a faint smile playing onto his lips. “Well, I can tell when I’m not wanted, so I’m gonna leave. But… before I go, there’s a traitor among you.”  
The masked blonde grinned widely and shot out of the cave, the only evidence that he was ever there were the green tipped white feathers scattered across the floor.  
Wilbur’s face was pale as his surrounding friends began accusing each other and asking him if what Dream had said was true. His fingers pulled at the sleeve of his sweater and he inhaled slowly. “It doesn’t matter right now. We need to find Niki before Schlatt kills her.”  
“He wouldn’t kill her though, right?” Eret asked, worry beginning to crease his sharp features. “She’s going along with his demands, he wouldn’t actually kill her… Right?”  
“He would. Schlatt said the next time someone from Pogtopia comes into Manburg, he’ll kill them on the spot,” Wilbur whispered. “We have to find her.”  
Tommy nodded firmly. “Let’s go save our Treasury of State.”

“Niki! Over here!”  
“Hello?” Niki made her way over to where the voice came from and yelped loudly as a hand yanked her through a stone wall. Her eyes went wide as they took in the massive wall of redstone and pistons that made up the hidden door. She whirled around and squeaked loudly as Sam smiled warmly. “Sam?”  
“Hey, Niki,” the redstone master grinned. He pulled the small girl into a hug, but froze as voices sounded from outside his secret base.  
“I know she’s here somewhere,” Schlatt snarled.  
Niki and Sam remained silent as Quackity responded somewhat angrily to the emperor. “I know that too, dumbass! How the hell am I supposed to know where she went?! She vanished!”  
“Find her! Now! I’m not letting anyone else fucking escape,” the president hissed.  
Sam relaxed as he heard two pairs of wing beats fade away into the distance. “That was close. What are you doing here? Schlatt’s on the hunt for Pogtopia members after Wilbur, Eret, and Fundy escaped.”  
“Will escaped?” Niki exclaimed. A relieved smile spread across her face. “Thank goodness.”  
“Yeah, but you aren’t safe here, Niki. You need to leave… No offence.”  
Niki giggled softly. “None taken. But, how do I leave without being seen?”  
“I haven’t figured that out yet. You need to sneak out somewhere, but I don’t know a good place to do that,” Sam muttered.  
“What about the prime path?”  
“You mean the very obvious road that goes right through Manburg? Yeah, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”  
“No, Tommy connected it to Pogtopia underground. If we can get there, I can leave without Schlatt finding out.”  
Suddenly the giant hidden door exploded in a bright flash of heat and light.  
Niki screamed as she and Sam flew backwards and into a stone wall.  
Schlatt laughed maniacally and strode into the secret base, Quackity stuck to his side like always. “Aww, too bad I already did. And looks like we’ve got another fuckin’ traitor.”  
Sam’s eyes went wide and he inhaled sharply as he glanced over at Niki.  
The blonde girl was lying face-down on the ground, immobile as blood started to soak through her blonde hair.  
Quackity eyed the motionless Niki guiltily and tensed as Schlatt’s hand grazed his back. “What the fuck are you doing?”  
The president’s hand stilled.  
Sam winced as he tried to push a massive fallen boulder off his leg and bit back his pained yell.  
Schlatt moved his mouth next to Quackity’s ear and snarled softly. “Shut up. You are going to stay silent while I take care of this.”  
“And if I don’t?” Quackity dared to ask.  
The ram horned man sneered and dug his abnormally sharp nails into his vice president’s back. “I advise against that, mi amor.”  
Quackity gasped softly and forced a placated smile onto his face, nodding his head quickly.  
Schlatt released Quackity and stepped towards Sam with a menacing glare.  
The green haired man frantically shoved at the rock pinning his leg as Schlatt neared him. His panicked gaze fell onto Niki as she groaned softly and reached for her head.  
Schlatt instantly stopped in his tracks and turned towards Niki. His wings spread to their full extent and he pointed his crossbow at her threateningly.  
“No!” Sam yelled, pulling on his leg and shoving at the large rock.  
Niki swallowed as the hazy image of Schlatt stalking towards her flashed across her line of sight. She blinked rapidly to try to clear her vision, weakly forcing herself onto her hands and knees. Her sparrow wings pitifully twitched as Schlatt grabbed her roughly by the hair and yanked her head up.  
The president leaned down next to Niki’s face and smirked. “Tell HBomb I said hello.”  
Tears formed in Niki’s eyes as Schlatt pressed the poison-tipped arrow against her back and Quackity watched in silence.  
Schlatt tensed as he heard the sound of multiple pairs of wings flapping from outside and Quackity cursed as Tommy suddenly flew into his chest, knocking him onto the floor.  
The teenager whooped loudly and spun in midair, flying upside down and landing next to Wilbur.  
The president had changed out of Eret’s clothes and was back in his signature trench coat and black beanie. Despite his gaunt appearance, Wilbur had a large grin curving his lips.  
Schlatt tightened his grip on Niki’s bloodstained hair. “Take one more damn step and I’ll jam this arrow into her spine.”  
“And Eret has a crossbow pointed between your eyes,” Wilbur countered, his brave face masking the fear he felt as he met Niki’s eyes. “And I’m quite sure he can fire it before you move.”  
Eret raised his eyebrows over a new pair of sunglasses and laughed. “Oh, I can.”  
Quackity seemed to sink into the ground as Fundy levelled his swords with his face, ready to swing down at any moment.  
The fox hybrid bared his teeth angrily as his bloodied tail swished back and forth violently. “Hand her over.”  
“I’d rather not,” Schlatt spat.  
Niki inhaled deeply as Wilbur took another step forward and Schlatt pushed the arrow tip into her back. “Will!”  
The brunet stopped in his tracks as Niki stared up at him with wide brown eyes. “Let her go, Schlatt. Now!”  
“Nice fucking try, as soon as I let her go, you’ll kill me,” growled Schlatt. “And if I’m going out, I’m taking as many of you with me as possible.” He pulled the trigger on his bow and Niki cried out in pain as it embedded itself in her back.  
Eret instantly let his own arrow loose, just barely missing Schlatt’s head as the president ducked and darted away. “Damn it.” He nocked another quarrel as he and Fundy followed their enemy into Manberg.  
Wilbur immediately rushed over to Niki and pressed his hands over the wound to the left of her spine. “Hang on, Niki, hang on.”  
She whimpered and opened her watery eyes, forcing a small smile. “It’s okay… Just let me go, okay?”  
“No. I’m not losing you too,” Wilbur whispered erratically, hands desperately trying to staunch the blood flow.  
“You have to, Will.” The blonde smiled again as tears ran down her face and blood seeped from her back. “You have to win… Do it for Tubbo. And for me.”  
“I can’t, Niki. I can’t win this without you. I need you with me.”  
Niki gently placed her hand on Wilbur’s face, wiping away a stray tear. “I’m already gone, Will. You just have to let go. I’ll be okay.”  
More tears fell from Wilbur’s eyes and he swallowed hard. “But… I’ll never see you again.”  
“You will, just not for a little while,” she coughed as her vision began to blur and her limbs became heavy. “And I know that you can win this.”  
Wilbur sobbed as Niki’s eyes glazed over and her hand fell from its position on his face. “No, no, no. No, Niki!”  
Tommy blinked the tears from his eyes and took a shaky breath. “Wilbur, she’s gone. She’s gone.”  
The ex-president shook Niki’s body slightly as more of his tears fell onto her pale cheeks. “No. She’s still here, I know it.”  
The blond teenager knelt down next to Wilbur and gently closed Niki’s eyes, sadness radiating from the youngest of the group. “She’s gone, Will. Niki’s dead.”  
Quackity’s mouth hung open in horror as Tommy carefully removed Niki’s body from Wilbur’s arms and allowed the older man to pull him into a tight embrace. The brunet’s shoulder’s shook with his heart-wrenching sobs and Tommy kept his arms wrapped around Wilbur’s back.  
Wilbur buried his face in the crook of Tommy’s neck as he cried, eyelids clamped shut to avoid gazing at his friend’s lifeless body.  
Quackity started to inch towards Niki and gently brushed the hair from her face.  
Tommy snarled at the older teenager and lurched forward when Wilbur stopped the motion, lightly grabbing his wrist with a hand.  
“Leave him. He’s saying goodbye,” Wilbur whispered softly.  
The dark haired teen inclined his head respectively and cradled Niki’s limp hand in his. He squeezed her hand one last time before shakily getting to his feet and unsheathing his golden axe.  
Tommy leapt out of Wilbur’s arms and grabbed Quackity by the shirt collar. “What the fuck are you doing? You’re really going to side with him, even after this?!”  
“No,” Quackity hissed. “I’m going to help Eret kill that asshole.” He turned to leave, but paused to lift the rock off of Sam’s leg and help him up.  
Tommy kept himself protectively situated in front of a kneeling Wilbur as he glared at Sam. “You with us?”  
The dark-green haired man nodded his head and carefully lowered his weight onto his injured leg, hissing at the dull, throbbing pain. “Let’s go end this.” Sam spread his wings and flapped out into the sky, Quackity quickly following behind him.  
Tommy opened his wings to follow, but stopped to place a hand on Wilbur’s shoulder.  
The brunet flinched and looked down at the ground.  
“You ready, Will?”  
“Everyone’s dying, Tommy. We’ll all be dead before this is over. Is it really worth it? If I press that button… this will end. Everything will end. And I’ll get Niki back,” Wilbur breathed, a manic smile growing on his lips.  
Shock flickered across Tommy’s face and his hand instinctively retreated from Wilbur’s shoulder. His pale eyes remained locked on Wilbur and Tommy sighed sadly. “You can’t just destroy L’Manburg, Will. I know it may seem like you want to… And that it’s the only way to fix everything. But it isn’t. We can save it, save everyone. Schlatt can’t defend Manburg with no allies.”  
Wilbur looked up at Tommy sullenly. “Niki’s gone. Fundy hates me. Phil vanished off the face of the earth and Techno killed Tubbo... I have nothing left. It would be better for me to be dead with them.”  
Hurt flashed over Tommy’s features and he opened and closed his mouth without a sound.  
“I just want to bury them all before it’s gone. Niki at the bakery. Tubbo at his old house, by the bees. HBomb… in the forest by Fundy’s base.”  
“You still have me, Will,” Tommy muttered. “You and I both know that you, Tubbo, and I are brothers. And now that he’s gone… we have to stick together. And I know that I will always stand by your side, so why won’t you consider the possibility that we don’t need to hit that damn button.”  
The brunet didn’t acknowledge that the teen had even spoken as he got to his feet, placing a thin hand on the doorway to the secret base. His eagle wings opened wide and he slowly flapped out into the brisk night air.  
Tommy frowned, extending his own hawk wings and flapping after Wilbur. His body was beginning to ache after the recurring back and forth flights to Pogtopia, but he continued flying after his friends.

Schlatt coughed as the whiskey burned his throat and blood steadily dripped down his calf from the arrow jutting from just under his knee. He weakly lifted the bottle and refilled the iced glass with the amber liquid. His eyes dimly flickered, with only a ember of their normal fiery defiance, as Wilbur silently sat next to him.  
The former president sighed as he grabbed the bottle of liquor and took a rather large swig from the mouth of the bottle.  
The ram horned man raised an eyebrow and blinked slowly, not even glancing over at Wilbur as he spoke, “Nice manners, lover boy.”  
“Who gives a fuck.”  
Schlatt shrugged dismissively and sipped from his own glass, eyes beginning to glaze over as he stared into nothingness.  
“Do you actually care about anything… or anyone?” Wilbur murmured.  
The question made Schlatt inhale deeply and ponder his answer as his eyes refocused.  
Wilbur side-eyed the other brunet and patiently watched him swirl the whiskey around his glass.  
“I… Quackity. He’s my vice president… one of my best friends. And Minx…” The slightest hint of nervousness crept into Schlatt’s voice and he warily looked over to Wilbur. “You won’t go after them, will you… After I’m gone?”  
Wilbur softened and shook his head. “No… But you know what I have to do, right? For Niki?”  
“Yeah… I know. I never wanted to really hurt anyone, Wilbur and I think you know that,” Schlatt confessed.  
The curly haired brunet exhaled. “I do. And I want you to know that I really don’t want to kill you…”  
“I know, pretty boy,” Schlatt murmured.  
Wilbur scoffed and smiled lightly as Schlatt's elbow bumped into his. “I’ll miss you… my pretty princess.”  
Schlatt laughed. “Don’t call me that, you fucker.”  
The tense silence went on for a while.  
Wilbur cleared his throat. “I- How do you want me to do it?”  
The vulture winged man gulped softly and clutched his glass tighter. “Something fast. No poison… or wither effects.”  
“I have an instant damage potion in my ender chest, if that’s what you’d want...”  
Schlatt blinked hard and rose to his feet after swallowing the last of his drink. “Come on, there’s an ender chest in the next room.”  
Wilbur followed the younger man into the other room and slowly withdrew the potion from the personal chest. He handed the vial to the other brunet and gently brushed a wingtip over his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”  
Schlatt shot him one last watery smile and uncorked the bottle. “Me too, Wilbur… Me too… One last thing… tell Minx and Qua- Alex I said goodbye.” He tipped the vial towards Wilbur before downing the dark red liquid.  
Wilbur closed his wings around Schlatt as he fell into the warm feathers, convulsing slightly with his eyes clenched shut.  
The older man kept Schlatt’s shaking body held close to him as the violent trembles that wrecked the younger man’s body slowed and eventually stopped.  
Schlatt’s hand that had been fisted in Wilbur’s feathers fell limply to the side and his large vulture wings collapsed to the ground.  
Wilbur gave the president one last moment of silence before gently shifting JSchlatt’s body onto the floor, wings splayed out beneath him. Wilbur’s eyes were foggy as he climbed the ladder out of his old house and walked past Tommy’s old base. He sighed as he sat down in the middle of the prime path and looked up at the clouds.  
A faint grin curled his lips as a cloud in the shape of a fox drifted above him. A fond memory of him swinging a young Fundy around in his arms surfaced in his mind. Wilbur closed his eyes and immersed himself in the memory.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wilbur tensed as rustling sounded in the bushes behind him and birds took off into the sky. He whirled around and his defence instantly fell apart as a small, thin boy leapt out of the bushes, something pinned between his hands.  
The little hybrid had pointed fox ears and a big bushy tail which happened to be wagging rather wildly as he peered through the gaps between his fingers. A small squeak slipped through his lips as his hands fell open and a large blue butterfly flew out of his hands. His big, dark eyes shone with the faint sunlight filtering through the dense treetop. As the hybrid’s eyes followed the butterfly’s movements, he caught sight of Wilbur watching him.  
The tall brunet hid his amused smile as the fox growled softly at him. He lowered himself to his knees and beckoned the young boy closer, his free hand rummaging through his knapsack.  
The fox tentatively sniffed at the air and his eyes widened as Wilbur held out a handful of sweet berries. He instantly darted over to the older man, hands reaching out for the addicting fruit.  
Wilbur nodded encouragingly and grinned happily as the hybrid hastily stuffed the berries into his mouth, the red juice dripping from the corner of his mouth and staining his tiny white fangs pink. “Hello, there,” he murmured softly.  
The small fox blinked at him and brushed his tail across Wilbur’s hand. His ears twitched minutely and he pounced at the brunet.  
Wilbur jumped back as the boy jumped on him, curling around the tall man’s frame and trembling slightly. “Whoa.” His hand came up to rest on the fox’s back and he gently rubbed his hand over the shaking boy’s back, biting his lip to hold back his smile as his finger grazed the boy’s small red and orange wings.  
“Please don’t kill me,” a quiet, almost silent voice whispered.  
“What?! Why would I do that?” Shock tinged Wilbur’s soft voice and he huffed as the fox’s arms tightened around his neck.  
“Hunters killed my mom and dad…”  
Wilbur’s mouth fell open as tears fell onto his shoulder. “Oh… I’m not a hunter. I’m gathering food for my family.”  
“I-I-I don’t have a family.”  
“Oh. Would you like to come home with me?”  
The small fox pulled his face away from Wilbur’s neck to stare into the man’s brown eyes. “Really?”  
“Yeah, you’d have a bed, food, a-and me,” Wilbur muttered. “I can be your family.”  
Pink dusted the hybrid’s nose and cheeks. “Okay.”  
“What’s your name?”  
“Floris. But before my mom and dad… my friends would call me Fundy,” the small fox whispered.  
“Fundy… it suits you,” Wilbur beamed. “Come on, I’ll take you home.” He kept one hand under Fundy as he pushed himself to his feet and began the short trek home.  
-Time Skip-  
Wilbur lowered Fundy onto the floor next to Tommy, Techno, and Philza.  
The fox hybrid clutched onto Wilbur’s pant leg, peeking behind the tall man as Tommy frowned.  
“Who’s that?” the 11 year old grumbled. He stuck his head around Wilbur’s legs and huffed as Fundy’s fluffy tail hit him in the face. “What the fu-“  
Phil’s head instantly snapped towards the youngest of the group. “Tommy,” he warned.  
The blonde paused. “Fudge?”  
The oldest in the group’s frown remained and he glanced up at Wilbur. “He’s got a point, Will. Who’s this?”  
Fundy whined softly as Will gently stepped aside and pushed him forward with a light nudge.  
“This is Fundy,” Wilbur smiled proudly as the hybrid pulled his tail through his fingers.  
Technoblade inched closer to the fox, dark eyes calculating as he studied Fundy’s every movement. “What is it?”  
Phil sighed as Wilbur growled protectively and Fundy returned to hide behind Wilbur’s legs. “Techno, be nice. He is a fox.”  
The small hybrid poked his head out to look up at Phil, who offered him a gentle smile. He went red and buried his face in Wilbur’s pant leg.  
“Can he stay with us, Phil?” Will asked. “Please?”  
Philza hesitated, but the pleading look on Wilbur’s face made him relent easily. “Of course, Wilbur.”  
Fundy yelped quietly as Wilbur happily swung him around in a circle, his tail flying after them as they spun. A carefree smile twisted Fundy’s mouth and he let out a loud laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wilbur opened his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh as he noticed that the cloud had passed.  
Now his adopted son basically hated his guts and couldn’t bear to be touched by him.  
Tubbo and Niki were dead.  
And Tommy…  
The brunet ignored the sound of footsteps coming up behind him in favour of clasping his hands together and closing his eyes again.  
“I hope you aren’t thinking about going back on our deal,” the smooth voice prodded.  
“Fuck off,” Wilbur muttered angrily, fed up with all the deceit and manipulation in this world.  
The footsteps edged closer until a shadow was cast over the brunet’s sunlit face. “Really, Wilbur, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. With Schlatt gone and L’Manburg in shambles, I doubt you’d want them without my protection.”  
“I don’t need you and neither do they. They have others. Better people than you and I.” Wilbur craned his neck out of the other man’s shadow so that his face was in the sun again. “So go.”  
A foot stomped down on Wilbur’s shoulder, the heel of leather boots digging into Wilbur’s skin painfully.  
Wilbur inhaled sharply and clutched at the younger’s boot, fingers desperately trying to pry it off. “Get. Off. Me!”  
“Go through with our deal, Wilbur,” the other man hissed. “Or you’ll be the only one protecting them from me.”  
The brunet gasped as the boot pressed into his shoulder muscle as he nodded his head quickly. “Fine! For fuck's sake, get off.”  
The young man smirked and placed his foot back on the ground. “I expect you to do it before the sun goes down. So you’ve got less than two hours.”  
“Why…”  
Another scowl from the younger man made Wilbur cringe. “Why what?’  
“Why do you want me to do this?”  
Green eyes glinted behind the white mask and a low laugh fell from his lips. “You said it yourself. L’Manburg is gone. What else do you have to live for besides that?”  
Wilbur opened his mouth only to let it fall shut again.  
“That’s what I thought.”  
As the sound of Dream taking off into the sky, the former president stifled the gag creeping up his throat, in favour of getting to his tired feet and striding down the familiar wooden path. Wilbur sighed as another memory pushed its way to the front of his mind, the time when Phil came back to the cabin with a six year old child attached to him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wilbur eagerly opened the door to see Phil after his day away, only to find him with a strawberry-blond haired little boy clinging to him.  
“Hey, Will,” the older man greeted wearily. He hastily stepped inside and lowered the child to the ground next to Wilbur, only for the action to prompt the boy to begin screaming at the top of his lungs.  
The fourteen year old Wilbur pressed his hands over his ears as the little child continued to cry, jealousy evident on his face as his father figure rushed over to shush the boy.  
“It’s okay, Tommy, you’re home now,” Phil murmured quietly, allowing the child to grab hold of his hat and place it on his own head lopsidedly.  
“Home?!” Anger flashed across Wilbur’s soft features and his wings flared open. “What d’you mean home?”  
Unaware of the sudden change in atmosphere, Tommy focused on the array of feathers in Wilbur’s eagle feathers.  
Phil’s eyes narrowed and he cuffed the fourteen year old in the head with his own fluffy white wing, eliciting an outraged screech from the teenager. “Wilbur, he was alone in the forest. I wasn’t just going to leave him there.”  
“Why not? There isn’t more room here,” the brunet hissed.  
“There wasn’t any room here when I found you alone either,” Phil forced out the words to remain calm sounding, even if he felt the complete opposite. “Would you prefer I left you to die in the woods too?”  
Wilbur’s anger quickly dissolved into shame and his wings instinctively folded up against his back. “No... I’m sorry.”  
Tears welled up in Tommy’s eyes again as his colourful attraction disappeared suddenly and he tugged on Phil’s blond hair, firmly pointing at Wilbur’s wings. “Put them back.”  
A smile crept onto the oldest man’s lips. “Will, open your wings.”  
The teenager frowned, but spread out the feathered appendages. “Why?”  
“I think Tommy likes them,” Phil laughed.  
“Tommy?” Wilbur muttered sceptically.  
“Yeah, I thought it fit him.”  
Phil carefully lowered the little boy to the ground again, watching with a large grin as Tommy walked over to the teen and reached up for the soft downy plumage at the joints of Will’s wings. He dug his fingers into the feathers, giggling loudly as Wilbur cringed.  
“Owww,” the brunet whined, looking up at his father-figure with puppy-dog eyes. “Phil…”  
Tommy laughed again and continued to stroke the older boy’s wings.  
But as another boy walked into the room, Tommy’s attention was easily diverted to the eleven year old’s bright pink hair.  
Techno jumped as small hands suddenly tugged roughly on his long braid. His hands instantly twitched towards the small blade at his waist, only for his guard to drop as Tommy stared up at him. He raised his eyebrows as the child smiled widely and pulled on his hair.  
“Techno, this is Tommy,” Phil explained. “He’s your new little brother.”  
After taking one look at Wilbur’s incredulous expression, Techno shrugged and extracted his hair from the little boy’s hands, placing it over his other shoulder and out of Tommy’s reach. “Okay.”  
Wilbur sputtered and gestured wildly at the child. “But-”  
Philza’s sharp glare instantly cut off the brunet’s rambling.  
Tommy whimpered as his new toy was taken away and Techno rolled his eyes.  
Wilbur fluttered his wings trying to reclaim the little boy’s attention, unconsciously pouting when Tommy remained focused on his attempts to grab Techno’s braid again.  
The pink haired boy scowled as Tommy attempted to climb up his red cape. “Get him off me.”  
Phil immediately pulled Tommy off Techno and placed him by the large box of Wilbur’s old toys.  
Tommy grinned and pushed open the large toy chest, reaching into it and snatching up various coloured blocks. He remained oblivious to the fact that his new family was watching him intently as he built a small tower.  
Techno took another disinterested glance at the six year old before returning to his bedroom.  
Wilbur moved to follow suit when Phil placed a hand on his shoulder.  
“You know I’ll never forget about you, right, Will? You’ll always be my first son.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wilbur paused, literally steps from where he’d stood before, as a wing wrapped around his back.  
“We did it, Big Man,” Tommy shouted gleefully, squeezing his wing around Wilbur’s shoulders. “We got our home back!”  
The brunet blinked numbly and nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah, we did.”  
“Schlatt’s dead and you’re president again, Will. L’Manburg is back! Whooo!”  
Tommy shrieked loudly and flew into the air, doing multiple spins and flips in midair. “WE DID IT!”  
Wilbur’s hands clenched into fists at the mention of the ram hybrid. “Stop celebrating, Tommy. Half our people are dead and you’re acting like it’s Christmas. Show some fucking respect.”  
The teenager frowned at the harshness in Wilbur’s voice, but followed the president’s order and landed on the ground.  
“Sorry,” Tommy muttered guiltily.  
Wilbur scowled and rolled his eyes, annoyance radiating off the brunet. His hands slipped into the pockets of his pants and he raised an eyebrow as his finger grazed some sort of powder. He awkwardly scooped the powder onto his hand and he stared at it suspiciously.  
The powder was a white pearlescent colour, but as Wilbur’s finger dipped into it, it rapidly turned dark blue, now taking on a dark shimmer.  
He frowned in confusion, but as the rest of the sparkling dust shifted into cornflower blue, Wilbur felt his sadness ebb away until it was just a faint kernel in the back of his mind.  
Wilbur inhaled lightly and pulled an empty potion vial from his pocket, pouring the sapphire powder into it to save it for a rainy day. A bright smile etched itself onto his face and Wilbur looked up at the clouds with a newfound hope. “Tommy?”  
The teenager looked over at him. “Yeah?”  
The president sighed softly as the thought of his deal with Dream flickered through his mind. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
